Kuwait Documents Allege Halliburton Bribe Scandalby David Phinney, Special to CorpwatchNovember 11th, 2004Newly revealed documents, dating from December 2003 and the early months of 2004, allege that Halliburton staff in Kuwait asked for kickbacks from selected contractors while undermining others who were looking for work from the multi-billion dollar contracts that the company oversees for the military occupation force in Iraq.

Agent Orange Victims Sue Monsantoby Tom Fawthrop, Special to CorpWatchNovember 4th, 2004Vietnamese Association of Victims of Agent Orange (VAVA) filed a class action law suit in a New York court, against Monsanto and 36 other manufacturers of Agent Orange.

Halliburton Hit with Multiple Lawsuitsby David Phinney, Special to CorpWatchOctober 27th, 2004Companies working in support of U.S. troops in Iraq are hauling Houston-headquartered defense contractor, Halliburton, into U.S. federal court with claims that the company stiffed them for hundreds of millions of dollars after they provided essential services in the war effort.

Darfur Diplomacy: Enter the Contractors by Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatchOctober 21st, 2004Rwandan and Nigerian soldiers will arrive in western Sudan this week as the first deployment of a five nation 4,500 strong peacekeeping force dispatched from the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa to stem the violence in Darfur. Providing logistical support for the mission will be two private contractors from California, both of whom have mixed records carrying out similar enterprises in the past.

Iraq Contractor Accused of Offshore Shell Gameby David Phinney, Special to CorpWatchOctober 14th, 2004Former managers working for Custer Battles, a high-profile private security company in Iraq, are accusing the firm of using companies in the Cayman Islands and other “tax haven” countries to fraudulently overcharge on government contracts by tens of millions of dollars.

Banking on Electionsby Lucy Komisar, Special to CorpwatchOctober 6th, 2004 Finance sector invests heavily in candidates
When former Texas Senator Phil Gramm came out of the Tavern on the Green one recent August morning, his disposition turned edgy. Now a vice chairman of the Swiss financial corporation UBS, he had just left his colleagues at the Financial Services Roundtable breakfast. He wasn't keen on talking to waiting journalists, certainly not to the CorpWatch team.

"Rigged from the Beginning"
by David Phinney, Special to CorpWatchSeptember 30th, 2004A once secret Halliburton oil contract raked in billions long after the Army said the work would be competitively bid. As of September 2004 Halliburton billed over $2.5 billion. A Bechtel whistleblower calls the bidding process to break up the work, "a sham."

Leaving Children Behindby Ben Clarke, Special to CorpWatchSeptember 23rd, 2004Exam privatization threatens public schools
"They make kids in my class feel dumb," says Vanessa Verdín about the corporate-designed standardized tests that millions of U.S. students are required to take under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Vanessa, an energetic eleven year old whose hobbies include soccer, knitting and research, feels that the tests "ask the wrong questions" and "waste time when we could be learning."

Prison Interrogation for Profitby David Phinney, Special to CorpWatchSeptember 15th, 2004Private contractors face legal action for crimes in Abu Ghraib
Employees of two high-profile defense contractors are accused of involvement in close to one third of the torture and abuse incidents cited in a recent Army investigation of Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

November Surpriseby Stephen Miller, Special to CorpwatchSeptember 8th, 2004Electronic Voting Machines Add Uncertainty to Close Election Race
Across the U.S., dozens of election commissions, county clerks and voting registrars are scrambling to maintain public confidence in an election system shaken by the Florida 2000 debacle and challenged by security flaws in hi-tech electronic solutions. In the swing states, where the presidential election is expected to be close, 14 of 20 states will be experimenting with untested technology.

Media Moneyby Sakura Saunders and Ben Clarke, Special to CorpWatchAugust 25th, 2004Media corporations give millions, receive billions. The cost for two weeks of ad-driven debate on Kerry's military record cost almost $1 million. Political advertising will bring over $1.5 billion to media corporations this election season. In turn they will invest millions in campaign contributions and lobbying. Meanwhile, substantive political coverage continues to decline.

ANC Privatizations Fail to Deliver in South Africaby Patrick Bond, Special to CorpwatchAugust 18th, 2004"Privatization can only worsen conditions for the majority. The reality of the Telkom sale is that property is being expropriated from 46 million South Africans to be auctioned off to, at best, 1 million 'investors' in the name of black economic empowerment."

Sweating for the Olympicsby Sasha Lilley, Special to CorpWatchAugust 11th, 2004Behind the five intertwined rings of the Athens games, underpaid workers are sewing the shirts, gluing the shoes, and putting zippers to running suits and track apparel branded as Olympic--in working conditions that would make even the most highly trained athlete sweat.